I downloaded icloud and all my contacts are gone. How can i get them back?

[iMore Question]

All phone numbers are gone from the contacts after I got icloud. How can I get them back?

 

[Tartarus]

Hi, welcome to iMore.
When you enable iCloud you can also enable Contacts within it. Upon doing that, you will be presented with a prompt, asking you if you like to merge the current contacts on your phone with iCloud or have it replaced.

I'm afraid you chose replace. By doing so you have lost all your existing contacts.
I'm afraid there is no way to get them back, unless you have backed them up using another account, like Hotmail Contacts or Gmail Contacts.